Written by

Chris Duncan

Associated Press

Nuggets 105, Rockets 95

HOUSTON — Ty Lawson scored 21 points, Wilson Chandler had 20 and the Denver Nuggets pulled away in the third quarter of a 105-95 victory over the mistake-prone Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Danilo Gallinari sank three 3-pointers and scored 18 points for the Nuggets, who converted 28 points off 23 Houston turnovers to beat the Rockets for the fifth straight time.

James Harden scored 23 points and Omer Asik grabbed 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who’ve lost eight of their last nine games.

Denver took control with a 21-5 burst late in the third quarter, turning a flurry of Rockets’ turnovers into easy baskets.

Houston coach Kevin McHale took point guard Jeremy Lin out of the game with 3:27 left in the quarter, but the Nuggets continued their surge. JaVale McGee turned in the highlight of the night in the last minute of the third quarter, flipping the ball off the backboard and then dunking the putback with one hand for an 80-64 lead.

The Nuggets shot 62 percent (13 of 21) in the third quarter and scored 12 points off seven Houston turnovers.

Denver poured it on in the fourth quarter, stretching the lead over 20. Chandler drove down an open lane for an easy layup with 9:18 left and fans headed for the exits. McGee and Andre Iguodala scored 14 points apiece for the Nuggets, who’ve won eight of their last 10 games.

Lin, meanwhile, watched the fourth quarter from the bench for the second straight game.

McHale also yanked him at the end of Monday’s 100-94 win in Charlotte in favor of newcomer Patrick Beverley.

Lin is 7 for 24 from the field in his last three games.

Houston gave away five turnovers in the first six minutes and fell behind early. Iguodala finished a Denver fast break with a dunk after another Rockets’ turnover for a 25-14 lead.

The Rockets cut into the deficit by hitting six of their first 12 shots from 3-point range. Carlos Delfino’s first 3-pointer of the game came early in the second quarter and pulled Houston within 31-29.

Harden got poked in the right eye trying to block Corey Brewer’s 3-point attempt from the corner midway through the second quarter. Rockets trainer Keith Jones came out to check on Harden, and they walked to the bench together. Harden checked back into the game at the next whistle, then converted a three-point play after a steal to trim Denver’s lead to 40-35.

The Nuggets went cold late in the half, and Houston rallied to take a 44-40 lead. McGee dunked an alley-oop pass from Andre Miller and Denver led 46-44 at halftime despite missing 14 of 20 shots in the second quarter.

The teams were tied at 57-all when Denver went on the decisive spurt in the third.